Using Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016) storage Space?

[nxt125]

I recently purchased the Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016) which has 16 GB of internal storage.
I have inserted a 16 MB microSD card to increase the storage to 32 GB.
I have finally figured out, after 3 tortuous days of trying to navigate “My Files”, that the tablet sees this as two distinct 16 GB storage blocks, instead of one 32 GB blob of storage. Too bad Samsung tablets work this way. My old acer tablet would see the two 16 GB blocks of storage as one large 32 GB space, and use it as such. A much better system I think…
Anyway, I have figured out how to move my pictures, music, and some apps over to the inserted microSD card, and that should work fine.

Now, my question…
In this example, what would happen?

- I have 5 GB of available (unused) space in “internal storage”
- I have 7 GB of available (unused) space on the 16 GB microSD card.
- I want to use Smart Switch or some other method to transfer 10 GB of multimedia (pictures and/or music) to the tablet.

Will the tablet try to put the 10 GB of data all on the internal storage, and not be able to because there is only 5 GB available? Or, will it try to put it all on the micoSD card, and also fail because there is only 7 GB of space available? Or, will it span over the internal storage and microSD card because between the two, there is enough space?
Thanks!

 

[anon(632115)]

You don't just send from PC to tablet. You determine where the pics are going to go ie internal or external storage. With that amount of data I would recommend you get an SD card with larger memory

 

[nxt125]

Thanks for the info. but perhaps I should elaborate on my question...
- I would be using "Samsung Smart Switch" to wirelessly transfer the files from an old tablet to this new one. I have done this before, with smaller amounts of data, and it works very well. When I use Smart Switch, it does not ask me for a download location, it just automatically send the files to the internal storage of the new device. I want to know what would happen if I tried to send more data than the internal storage can handle. Would it switch over to the SDcard when internal storage is full.

- As far as getting a bigger SDcard, this is a unique situation. I only need the files on my tablet for a short period of time, maybe a month, then I will be deleting the files and 32 GB of storage will be plenty in the future.

Thanks!

 

[anon(632115)]

Ah right, I understand. You would get an error message if you tried to send that way as it would all go to internal storage. I would imagine 1 of 2 things. Firstly, the transfer gets refused as it checks for sufficient space or it fills up your phone making it painfully slow and constantly reminding you of low memory when apps update etc.
I would therefore split the files , filling SD card first

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! I merged duplicate threads.

I have finally figured out, after 3 tortuous days of trying to navigate “My Files”, that the tablet sees this as two distinct 16 GB storage blocks, instead of one 32 GB blob of storage. Too bad Samsung tablets work this way. My old acer tablet would see the two 16 GB blocks of storage as one large 32 GB space, and use it as such. A much better system I think…

This is normal. The 16 GB of Internal Storage are available for app installation and app data, while the microSD card is primarily intended for storage of discrete user files like media files or documents. Some apps might store some data there as well, and certain devices allow you to Move App to SD (which only moves a portion of the app, not the whole thing). But the device won't incorporate the microSD card into its onboard Internal Storage unless it's on Marshmallow and supports Adoptable Storage (and Samsung doesn't support this).

I'm not sure what your old Acer tablet showed, but it definitely couldn't have lumped a microSD card into its Internal Storage. Older devices usually partitioned their Internal Storage into a small App Installation area (usually around 3-4 GB) and a larger "Internal SD" that acted like an external SD card. So if you added a true external microSD, that was considered a second SD card (usually designated "external SD").

 

[nxt125]

Thanks! I may have been confused about the Acer. Great tablet... served me well for 4 or 5 years.

 

[nxt125]

Thanks! I think I got a handle on all this now. I'll just have to send the files over in smaller portions, move them to the SD card, and then send over some more.

 

[B. Diddy]

Are you able to see the microSD card in Windows Explorer when the tablet is connected via USB? If so, you should be able to copy files directly to the microSD.

 

[nonie]

I am thinking of buying a tab A. Wondering about saving things to sd card, how do I find them after I save?
Is there a way to name item before saving to make visible easier?
Do I need to make folder on card to save according to what I save?
If so , how do I do that?
Thanks.